Things I don't own

I’ve said this already and I’ll say it again: I am not a minimalist. I do own as little as I’ve ever owned in my life, but I also own things that I don’t use or love.

I also don’t own a lot of things that the average person probably does.

Here’s a few examples.

• A car
  I live in a city where public transport is pretty good, however I normally walk or cycle everywhere. I do sometimes wish I had a car for road trips or moving, but so far I’ve been able to borrow someone else’s vehicle for those rare occasions.

• A TV
  I have actually never owned a TV my entire life. We didn’t even have a TV at home until I was 6 or 7 years old. Since I first moved out of home, I have lived in houses where there was a TV, but I never owned one and I don’t plan to ever do. I use my computer for binge watching Netflix and YouTube, and I love going to the cinema for a more authentic movie experience.

• A mattress
  I technically still own a mattress, but I haven’t used it for the past 4 months. It currently sits in my garage and I’m planning to sell it. Stay tuned for a post about sleeping on the floor!

• Sunglasses
  I wish I was a sunglasses person, but the reality is that I hate not been able to see super clearly and I feel like sunglasses blur my vision by making everything darker. I know that’s the exact purpose of sunglasses, but as someone who wears spectacles and whose worst nightmare is to go blind, I’d rather squint in the sun thank you very much.

• Special occasion outfits
  I have one dress that I’ve worn for Christmas and New Years for the past… probably 10 years. That’s it. I don’t attend many fancy events and if I can avoid a wedding I will. I bought a second-hand dress for the last wedding I went to, and I am planning to upcycle it and turn it into a top I can wear on less snazzy occasions. If I do happen to be invited somewhere fancy, I will probably end up borrowing an outfit from a friend.

• Underwire bras
  I am fortunate to be small chested enough that I don’t have to wear a bra on a day-to-day basis; in winter I never wear bras and in summer I swap between the one sports bra and two bralettes I own. I got rid of all my other bras a couple of years ago as I found them uncomfortable and unnecessary (read about it here).

• High heels
  Believe it or not, I have owned more than one pair of heels at some point in my life. I never worn any of those pairs more than once or twice. Some of them I bought just so I could wear them with one specific outfit for one specific occasion, like my graduation or my wedding. (The shoes I wore at my wedding were hideous, by the way.) As much as I did feel sexy and cool in heels, they also killed my feet and made me walk like I had a broomstick up my bum (it’s not easy, ok?). None of my heels made it to the move to New Zealand, thank god.

• Multiple bedsheets
  I only own one set of bedsheets. They are linen, I bought them from here, and they costed half of my weekly paycheck. I wash them in the morning every two weeks and hang them out to dry on a sunny day. They dry pretty much instantly on a good Wellington windy day, and if it’s not windy I hope for the best. They make me feel like a queen. I regret nothing.

• Nail polish and nail polish remover
  I have always sucked at painting my own nails, so I officially gave up on it a few years ago. My main motivation to get rid of nail products was that they are wasteful and full of nasty chemicals, so this was one of the easiest things that I decluttered from my life.

• Shaving cream
  I don’t shave regularly (read more about this here), however I do own a safety razor and I am not intrinsically opposed to the concept of shaving. But I also think you don’t need a specific product to shave your legs and bits, a good lather of soap will do just fine.

• Dress-up costumes
  I LOVE dressing up, and yes I will use any excuse to put on a costume. However, I don’t own specific outfits for dress-up parties. I normally either borrow clothes, pick up things at clothes swaps, shop second hand or literally build my own costume. Please enjoy a few examples of DIY costumes that I am very proud of:

• Seasonal decor
  This might sound a bit sad, but I’m not a fan of decorating my house for Christmas or any other occasions that require specific decor. I just don’t see the point. I would probably put up some Christmas garlands or a tree if I lived in the Northern hemisphere and Christmas actually felt like Christmas, but having a reminder of how cold it should be when it’s in fact summer and you’re having a barbie on the beach drives me mad more than it makes me festive.

• Decoration with no meaning
  Everything that hangs from my walls has a meaning: I don’t have much, but it’s mostly pictures of my family, prints from books I’ve published and postcards I’ve collected on my travels. “Live Laugh Love” prints make me cringe.

• A hairdryer 
  Hairdryers destroy my hair and I also hate how bulky they are. My curls look their best when I let them air dry so that’s what I do. In winter I just schedule my hair washing so that I have time to let it dry before I go out.

• Cook books
  I don’t particularly like cooking and I’ve never followed a recipe my entire life, so as much as I appreciate the aesthetic of cook books they are 100% unneeded for me.

• Crafts supplies 

  I am a crafty person but my Fantasy Self is definitely more crafty than I am. I used to own boxes and boxes of art supplies and knick knacks I thought I would use for some craft projects, but the reality is, I never did. Now I’m down to some very basics watercolours and some brushes and that’s it.

Do you own any of these things? Do you think this is extreme? I’d love to hear from you?

Also there are many more things that I don’t own so stay tuned for part two!